Most people think of Charles Dickens as the “father of Christmas” or a champion of the poor. But the streets of London held darker, more personal secrets for the Great Author,from family embezzlement to bitter celebrity feuds.
If you’re looking for the Charles Dickens London walking tour that goes beyond the “tourist traps,” these three locations reveal the man behind the myth.
1. The Garrick Club Feud: When Dickens Got “Canceled”
Location: King Street, Covent Garden
Long before social media “beefs,” there was the Garrick Club Affair. In 1858, Dickens was a prominent member of this elite gentlemen’s club on King Street. When a young journalist named Edmund Yates wrote a biting (and frankly, quite rude) profile of William Makepeace Thackeray, the author of Vanity Fair, Thackeray was furious.
Dickens, strangely, took Yates’ side. The fallout was so toxic that Dickens and Thackeray didn’t speak for years.
- Why it matters: It shows the fiery, often stubborn side of Dickens’ personality that fueled his most complex characters.
- On our tour: We stand on King Street where the original club stood and recreate the atmosphere of 19th-century celebrity ego.
Image: Lonpicman / CC BY-SA 3.0
2. The “Dodgy” Grandfather of Somerset House
Location: The Strand
Dickens often wrote about the crushing weight of debt and the shame of the “blacking factory.” But the source of his family’s instability started even earlier.
His maternal grandfather, William Barrow, was a high-level clerk at Somerset House. In a scandal that could have come straight from Bleak House, Barrow was caught embezzling over £700 (a small fortune in 1810) from the Navy Pay Office. He fled the country to avoid arrest, leaving the family in disgrace.
- The Secret: Many historians believe this family shame is why Dickens was so obsessed with “respectability” and the fear of the workhouse.
© Ad Meskens / CC BY-SA 4.0
3. A Wedding at the “Island Church”
Location: St Mary le Strand
While Dickens’ own marriage famously ended in a messy separation, his family story in London truly began at St Mary le Strand. This beautiful Baroque church, standing like an island in the middle of the road, was where his parents, John and Elizabeth Dickens, were married in 1809.
Looking at this church today, it’s easy to imagine the Dickens family in their happier years, before the debts and the prison sentences took over.
Image: St Mary le Strand in Spring, Photo by Cary Bass-Deschenes, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Experience the Stories Yourself
Reading about Dickens is one thing, walking the narrow alleys where he gathered his inspiration is another.
Our Charles Dickens London Walking Tour takes you directly to these locations. We don’t just show you old buildings; we tell the human stories of the man who arguably “invented” London in the eyes of the world.
